APATHY SHOWN

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20007, 4 August 1939, Page 12

APATHY SHOWN

PARENTS AND EDUCATION GOOD SYSTEM BLAMED VIEWS OF J'iOAItD MEMBER WAIROA LEAGUE FORMED (Special to the Herald.) WAIROA, .this day. The general apathy of the parents in New Zealand in matters connected with the education of their childlen was the subject of considerable comment by Mr. C. R. Sainsbury, a n'emoer of the Hawke's Bay Education Board, ut a meeting held in the Wairoa District High School to form a Parents’ League. Mr. Sainsbury pointed out that this was not peculiar to Wairoa alone, but was general throughout the country, and in his opinion the reason for it was that the education provided in this country was so good tiiat the parents just did not bother. There was an attendance of 19 at the meeting and it was unanimously decided that a Parents’ League be formed, a strong committee being appointed. Mr. Sainsbury, chairman of the meeting, stated that he regretted the meeting was so poorly attended, and expressed his thanks to those who were sufficiently interested to attend. Attitude of Board Referring .to the attitude of the Education Board, he stated that it encouraged th e formation of leagues such as it was proposed to establish in Wairoa. He found that the greatest obstacle was Ihe apathy of the parents. He did not wish to criticise the parents, but to his mind the real reason was that the education given to the children was so good. If it were not so good he was sure the parents would take greater interest. Mr. Sainsbury added that parents should realise that actually the teachers and the Education Board could do only a small part in the education of the children, for without the necessary parental interest, the work of the masters and mistresses was toeing wasted. This apathy Was not confined to Wairoa. He was pleased to see such a good representation of the Maori race present, and in proportion it was much larger than the European representation. He expressed the view that the best thing to be done would be to -elecl a committee the members of which should endeavour to induce others to join up. “We would much sooner have the parents come along and growl rather than not take any interest in the children at all,” he concluded. On the motion of Mr. Sainsbury, seconded by Mr. R. W. Goodley, it was decided that a Parents’ League be formed. Object of League The chairman of the Wairoa School Committee. Mr. Goodley, stated that the objects of the Parents’ League was to “keep the school committee up to the mark,” and to work in conjunction with the committee in raising funds' for the school and in the carrying out of anything that was for the benefit of the school. The opinion that one of the objects in the formation of the league was to enable the parents to gain firsthand knowledge of what was going on in the school was expressed by Mr. S. M. Ashburn. The move was an excellent one and would be a great benefit to the school. The school committee did what it could, but there was a lot it could not tackle. School Dental Clinic Reference to the school dental clinic extensions was made by Mr. Vshburn, who stated that together with the -headmaster he drew up an appeal for fund's to enable this work to be carried out, and this appeal was sent to the parents. He stated that all .the schools in the district were levied to meet the cost end Wairoa’s portion of it was approximately £23. No difficulty was experienced in raising the country quota, but alt Wairoa could raise by way of the appeal was about £6. If there had been a Parents’ Association in existence he felt that no difficulty would have been experienced in raising the money required. As a- result of the poor response, lie added, it was necessary to borrow the money, which, in his opinion, was a disgraceful thing. If all the parents had contributed a shilling the committee could! have managed. A suggestion that a small committee be formed to get the movement started was made by Mr. G. Powell. He stated that there must be hundreds of old pupils of the .school who had the interests of the school at heaht. As a member of the school committee he could say that they often 'had great difficulty in making both ends meet, and with a few more nounds they could accomplish a lot With the formation of a Parents’ League he felt that the children generally would benefit. Committee Elected The following committee was elected: —Mcsdames C. M. Pilkington, M. G. Mnekay, Webber, L. Shaw, Keefe. Nightingale, and E. Ashburn, and Messrs. H. G. Jamieson, C. M. Pilkington, J. Paku and C, W. Tomlinson. Mr. Jamieson was appointed to the position of chairman, and the committee was given power to add to its number. Efforts are to be made to induce the school teachers to take an active interest ini the affairs of the league.